'Mulan' Live-Action Remake Honors Original’s Famous Songs

“Mulan” was first released in 1998. Now, over a decade later, the trailer for its live-action version gives a whole new look at the story of a young maiden who became one of China’s most iconic heroines. Playing homage to the original in a multitude of ways, 2020’s “Mulan” trailer serenades viewers with a well-known song from its animated past.

“Reflection,” initially performed by Lea Salonga for the animated film, the song gets an instrumental makeover for Disney’s upcoming live-action take on the Chinese maiden who went to war in the place of her father. The song, which features un the trailer, eventually became a reflection on identity and served as a spiritual look at overcoming one’s troubles and enduring hardship at the cost of becoming a better person.

“Reflection” isn’t the only song featured in the new trailer, however, as a reference to “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You,” which was recorded by Donny Osmond for the original film, was also spotted. A Chinese officer training a group of warriors says “We’re going to make men out of every single one of you.”

In a 2018 article in Entertainment Weekly, the music duo behind 1998’s “Mulan,” lyricist David Zippel and composer Matthew Wilder, discussed the nature of their ballads in detail, and Zippel revealed that he discovered how impactful their music was when he met a young 15-year-old boy during a dinner party in New York 15 years later.

“He started to get all choked up,” Zippel relates, “And I said ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘I was going to commit suicide because I was gay, and I didn’t know how to tell my parents…I heard the song ‘Reflection’ and the lyrics ‘When will my reflection show who I am inside?’ gave me the courage to tell my parents who embraced me and accepted me and it changed my life.’”

Despite a bit of controversy still surrounding the movie, reception for the “Mulan” trailer has seemingly remained positive. Many of the talking points highlight the music, but others also draw attention to the other ways Disney has infused scenes from the classic animated version into the remake.

“Mulan” opens in theaters in March 2020.